For the longest time, compliance officers were people with background in law and audit. These are still very useful ways to get into compliance. Over the past three decade, the regulatory environment for financial services firms have become so complex, compliance officers have started to develop training and credentials more focused on the broadened role their profession has taken. Here are three credentials the industry recognizes.

CAMS – Certified Anti-Money Laundering SpecialistA certificate that requires higher education, experience and passing an exam, it addresses the largest work of a compliance department. Additionally, three professional references are required to take the exam. The exam is computerized and takes 3.5 hours. There are 120 question in total. The body of knowledge required to pass the exam includes understanding:

how money is laundered,

various standards for policies and procedures to combat money laundering,

how to develop an anti-money laundering program,

how to conduct investigations, and

how to interact with regulators.

CFE – Certified Fraud ExaminerA certificate that requires an undergraduate degree, experience and passing an exam, it cover fraud in all industries, not just financial services. The exam is taken at home or in the office with a Windows based web browser. The candidate has 10 hours to complete and submit the 125-question exam. The body of knowledge required to pass the exam includes understanding of:

Financial Transactions,

Law,

Investigation, and

Prevention.

CRCM – Certified Regulatory Compliance ManagerProvided by the American Bankers Association, this certificate requires three years of experience, and exam and a combination of conferences and continuing education credits. The 4-hour exam contains 200 questions and covers the regulatory compliance following topics:

Credit

Deposit

Bank Operations

BSA/AML/OFAC

CRA

Privacy

For all certificates, the profession must maintain membership and participate in continuing education.

About the Author: Marcus Maltempo is a compliance professional with more than a decade of experience helping banks, law firms and clients manage investigations and regulatory responses.
He tweets @MoneyCompliance